ALLIANCE Motors Zambia has donated US$4,000 to the community emergency team commonly known as Emergency Rescue Team (ERT) as support to the financial challenges the group is facing while carrying out its charity duties.

ERT director Andrew Stephenson said during the cheque handover ceremony in Lusaka that finances had remained a major challenge in the team’s operations.

Mr Stephenson also observed that most deaths which occurred in road traffic accidents were as a result of the way the victims were handled, which included first aid assistance.

“A lot of people die due to road accidents when they should not; our initiative is to go in the community and teach how to save people, especially those involved in road traffic accidents.

“People who die from road traffic accident do not actually die from the causes of the accident itself; they die from the way we handle them and the way we take them out of those vehicles,” he said.

He appealed to the community to assist the rescue team during its operations.

“We would like to appeal to the members of the public that when there is an accident, do not expect us to throw the person in the vehicle, we need to stabalise and we need their support and help.

“When we get to the accident scene, people expect us to do magic as we pick patients and put them in the vehicle but that’s not the right thing to do,” he said.

And Alliance motors Zambia general manager Andre Bonthuys said his company was excited to associate itself with community work.

“It is an honour to be involved in this wonderful occasion, as Alliance and Land Rover Zambia we feel our need and appreciation to share it with the community.

“What they are doing for the community is amazing, hence our involvement, not only do they render community services to the public but they are also train people to become first aiders,” he said.

Mr Bonthuys was happy that ERT trained 100 students as first aiders per year.